New homes planned at Castor and Ailsworth Tennis Club site

An outline planning application to create two new homes on the current site of the Castor and Ailsworth Tennis Club has been approved

The club has agreed the sale of the site at Holme Close to property developers after coming to the conclusion that it had outgrown its current surroundings.

At present, the club offers just one hard court, alongside its grass courts, lacks an all-year-round playing surface, is under a planning condition limiting the hours the courts can be used and prevents the use of floodlights and is unable to offer sufficient car parking.

All of this and the lack of room for expansion means that the club is unable to meet current Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) specifications.

The club has agreed a 50-year lease at a new 6.47-hectare site at Woodlands, owned by Nene Park Trust. The new site will provide five tennis courts, two paddle courts and two pickleball courts.

In order to fund the new development, the land of the club’s existing site must be sold off, hence the sale of the land for residential development and the outline application for residential homes

The two new houses proposed are both four bedrooms and would have a double garage. Another part of the site would also be allocated to a nearby property to increase the size of its garden.

The plans can be viewed on Peterborough City Council’s planning portal using reference 21/01624/OUT.